back to december
by MadnessIsTheMurderer
Summary: it was all chance, this meeting. But he had spotted her out of a group of people with her children. Thus, now they were taking. Perhaps this would be the December she would always remember. Half-songfic. sasuxsaku, naruxhina. implied naruxsaku EXTREME.AU


_ I'm so glad you made time to see me._

_ How's life? Tell me, how's your family?_

_ I haven't seen them in a while..._

How long had it been since he'd seen her? Months, maybe. A year, perhaps. Yet there she stood in front of him, still as beautiful as he remembers, still with that child she refused to abandon.

Her pink lips curled into a smile as she stared at him.

"Naruto," she whispered lightly. He smiled back.

"It's nice to see you, Sakura," came his refined response.

Another smile came onto her lips, a blush soon following as she adjusted her hold on the stroller to her side.

"You... You've grown up, haven't you?"

"Yeah." He smiles, too, and stares into her large green eyes hidden by disheveled pink hair. To say the years hadn't been good to her would be an understatement, though she still retained that lean body he was always so fond of. Dark circles underlined those eyes, though, and just staring at her for too long made one feel sorry for the premature mother of twins. "I found someone to change for. Calmed down and everything. Got a good job, living in a nice home."

A laugh fell gently from her lips, so soft and quiet. "I see that. You're so... mature. It's like I don't even know you anymore." Another laugh, but this one was more hysterical, yet so much more real.

Naruto didn't join in on her laughter, only gave a half smile and responded to her statement. "I don't think you do, Sakura. At least, not anymore."

Her head jolted up from that of her sleeping children to his eyes. He shook his head to dismiss what he had said and smiled, instead. "Anyways. How's your family? Are the children good? They've grown so much..." Naruto's blue eyes look down to the two children sleeping in the stroller, both identical to one another except for their varying hair colours. One pink, one black. "And how's... Sasuke?"

"They're good. The children are growing up nicely. Just recently was their second birthday." Sakura laughed softly, looking down to the two kids before her, both sleeping so innocently. "Sasuke is... Sasuke, I guess. He's still stoic and quiet. Focuses more on work than on me or the kids, but..." Tears lined her eyes. Oh, how dearly she wanted to speak to someone about the relationship between her and Sasuke, but to speak of it to Naruto, the boy she had abandoned for the father of her children? To speak to him about it seemed more like torture than a release. She shook her head as he did earlier, to banish the words she regretted saying. "How are you, Naruto? You said you had a job; what do you do?" Another laugh from her, another bell-chime that sounded crazy. "And who's this lady you've changed for?"

"I'm a CEO of a business, actually. We're doing really good, I'm proud to say. Kiba works for me, as my assistant. He's really grown up, too, since our old High School days..." He smiles a large, foolish smile that she always remembers grazing that pale face of the fox-like boy before things went so bad. "Neji stays in close contact, too, mainly because I married Hinata. We're... currently tryin for some children, actually. Neji's probably really pissed about that, though." He laughs, and Sakura joins in.

"Wow, Hinata, huh?" Another head shake, though this one was slower, more in disbelief than to run something away. "She still held on, after all. I thought she had for sure given up on you once we started dating."

Naruto grins, one hand landing on his hip and the other dangling with the suitcase in his hand. "Hey, why don't we get a bite to eat? I'll pay; we can catch up and everything. Talk about our lives."

She nodded.

_These days, I haven't been sleeping._

_ Staying up, playing back myself leaving._

How strange it was for Sakura to see Ino standing there before them, smiling like a thousand watt light bulb.

"Sakura!" Ino had called before capturing her old frienemy in a tight embrace. "It's been forever! It's nice to see you!" The blond girl of tall stature bent down slightly to view the two sleeping children in the stroller. "So these are the kids you were pregnant with back in senior year, huh?" She smiled again, standing up straight and fixing the short skirt she wore as a uniform. "Some of us have all the luck, huh?"

Sakura went to answer, but Ino continued, a sad look on her face as she thought of the moments that had passed. Three years of separation, and still the horrible feelings of guilt riddled the Yamanaka's brain.

"I mean, you have the perfect life, don't you? You got the hottest guy, have the ideal kids, and don't need to worry about ever running out of money. Even without completing high school, you still have the life... amazing how two people can be so different, huh?" Ino smiled, even though her words were so much more violent than what she thought them to be.

Sakura took offense, but her rebuttal had been cut short by Naruto boldly stating that they would have, "Two glasses of wine," and a salad for appetizer.

Their seat was ideal. Right by the window, over looking the night life of Konoha. Many younger kids walked the streets in flashy outfits, laughing and joking with their teenage friends while older, more mature young adults dressed provocatively for a fun night of clubbing. Lights were alight all throughout the town, creating a picturesque scene for the December snow that graced the ground so gently.

"You look so tired, Sakura," Naruto stated sadly, placing his briefcase on the floor beside his feet, clad in the dress shoes he now wore on a daily basis. He smirked. "The children be keeping you up?"

"Yes," she lied with a smile. Of course it wasn't the children; they were perfect. Never did they cry or awaken her in the middle of the night. They were the type of children every parent would want.

The sleep she lost at night was because of him, of Naruto and Sasuke. Her boyfriend would come home at odd hours of the night, always smelling of sweat and some form of alcohol, though his favorite seemed to be sake.

There would be marks on his body, from either women she wore he slept with or from cuts that were inflicted from someone angered with him and his playboy ways.

And then there was the thoughts of Naruto, always pestering her mind while Sasuke wasn't at home beside her.

She would wonder often what her life would have been like had she not cheated on Naruto with Sasuke, back in senior year. What if she had been loyal, what if she hadn't succumbed to the Uchiha boy's advances?

What if she hadn't offered herself up to him like she did?

Would she be living the life Hinata was now living, with a husband so mature and rich? Would she be at home with him, holding him in the middle of the night while he whispered sweet nothings to her, taking care of their children so she could catch up on lost sleep?

"Naruto, can I ask you something?" she asked softly. Would this be off putting? Would he get angry?

"Of course."

"Naruto... What do you think would have happened if, you know, I... I hadn't left you?"

For a moment he was taken aback, visibly flinched at her question. But then a smile grazed his lips and he leaned forward, grasping her hands in his own most gently.

Sakura didn't even pull away.

"That would not have happened, Sakura. You and I both know that." He gave one more smile before pulling back, removing his hands from hers and placing them in his lap. "Things are better this way, anyways. We're both happy now. Dating like we were... It was clear we were both unhappy. You cheated on me with Sasuke, so it was a clear sign it was doomed to fail."

She couldn't deny that. It was impossible to. He was clearly happy.

But she? No, she was not. Her happiness was only an illusion, her relationship only lasting because she knew she would die with the children if she left Sasuke.

_So this is me swallow my pride._

_ Standing in front of you, _

_ Saying I'm sorry for that night._

"I'm sorry," Sakura mumbled out, turning her head down to avoid looking into those beautiful, innocent blue eyes of his. Just seeing them makes her think of the way they filled with tears that one one day, the way hurt had taken over them when he found out of her infidelity. "I did something horrible to you. I hurt you, Naruto. And I'm sorry."

His hand reached across the table for the second time, grabbing her chin and raising it up to look him in the eyes.

"Keep your chin up, Sakura," he teased. "People would kill to see you fall." Such a sweet smile grazed his lips, and she couldn't help but smile, either.

Ino came after shortly, placing their wine and salad in front of them, joining their table and conversing with the two of them as if she had initially been invited into the conversation.

Neither cared, though.

It was a good night, then.

Sakura smiled throughout the entire evening, eating her meal with those she greatly enjoyed being around. It was nice, having company who listened, who stayed.

December. That was now the month she adored all too well.

That night, she went home with a smile on her face to an awaiting Uchiha, who only smirked at her appearance.

A quick kiss. A small hug.

That night, things seemed good. They seemed right.

That night, she was happy.

_I go back to December all the time._


End file.
